Photography Images

Over 12,000 photographs of nature and scientific subjects from
Southern California. Please click on a category below to see representative photographs.
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Many exotic and
endangered species are best photographed in captivity.

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with descriptive information.

Animal Signs

Many people go into wilderness areas and believe that there are few animals present, because wildlife is rarely seen during many hours of the day. The way to understand the diversity of animals present in a region is to know what the signs are.
Photographs of tracks, scat, scrapes, nibbles, rubs and other signs of animal presence.

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with descriptive information.

Astronomy

Astronomical events viewable terrestrially with the naked eye, such as solar and lunar eclipses, meteor storms, star trails, light phenomena, meteorite close-ups, etc. The image above is of a "Ring of Fire" annular eclipse viewed over water in La Jolla, California.

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Birds

Bird photographs, including raptors, shore birds, passerines, and exotics
photographed in the wild and in captivity. Flight, perching, nesting and behavioral photographs for most species. Several endangered species.
Nests of some species.

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Botanical Subjects

San Diego is one of the most diverse areas in North America for botanical subjects.
Most flowering species within the region, including many rare and endangered species. Annual life cycles for common species of flowering plants, trees and bushes endemic to San Diego. Microscopic plant life as well as some
exotic species.

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with descriptive information.

Geology and Fossils

Much of San Diego's geology is that of Sonora, Mexico, shifted north due to seismic activity. The County's geological record dates back to around 500 million years. Synclines, anticlines, deposition, erosion, deformation.
Local fossils, including marine species found on mountain tops, mastodons, horses, camels, and sloths found in the desert, and dinosaurs under the urban landscape.

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Humans in Nature

Humans have been part of the landscape of the Southern California region for at least 5,000 years (some estimates reach as far back as 10,000 years). While this is a fleeting moment in the history of life on the planet, it is a very long time relative to human history. Previous cultures have left their marks for us to find: rock paintings and carving, ceremonial sites, tools & implements, ancient trash heaps and entire villages.

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Insects, Arachnids and Butterflies

The most diverse group of animal species, some are living fossils, having changed little over hundreds of millions of years.
Many insect, arachnid and butterfly species, as well as life history studies of some social species, and predatory behavior studies of arachnids. Termite and mosquito fossils in amber.

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Marine Subjects

The underwater flora and fauna along the coast of Southern California are just as diverse as the terrestrial species. Some of the photographs were taken underwater and some were taken at the Scripps or Stephen Birch aquariums. Many common deep water subjects, as well as tidepool life: limpets, chitons, snails, lobsters, octopi, nudibranchs, sponges, algae, bryozoans. Marine mammals: gray whale, dolphins, seals and sea lions. Marine processes such as the effect of tides and coastal erosion.

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Natural Processes

Natural processes are all around us. Weather patterns, the hydrologic cycle, birth-life-death, earthquakes, geological processes, tides, the recovery of an ecosystem after a fire and many others. All require more than one photograph to tell the story (one series on syzygy tides includes a photograph taken every six minutes for twelve hours).

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Photomicrographs

Extremely diverse.
Microscopic plants and animals, intricate detail and patterns from larger life forms, geological details.
Microscopic studies of meteorites. Some of these images appear to be abstract art.

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Reptiles and Amphibians

Many local species of reptiles and amphibians, as well as some species
photographed in captivity. Rattlesnakes, Mountain King Snakes, Desert Iguanas, Geckos, Frogs, Lizards and some endangered species (such as the San Diego Horned Lizard).

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Scenics

Many of these photographs also fall under the "Moods of Nature" group. Most are landscapes that give an overall feeling of the relationship between plants, animals, the land and light.

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